Attire & Accessories Forum

Davids Bridal Alterations Rant-LONG

I am SO irritated and frustrated right now. 

 I've been unhappy about my dress for a few months now.....I thought that I was overthinking it.  During my first fitting I had a meltdown about it and although my mom was willing to buy me a second dress, I decided to see what we could do to my dress to make me like it again.  After a long time in the mirror, we decided to take it down from an A-line to a trumpet-like shape.  When the pinned it, it still seemed a little less fitted at the hips but they told me that if I took it in anymore I wouldn't be able to sit down, so I figured 'they're professionals, they know what they're doing.'  

Then there was the bustle.  The top layer of my gown is organza, which is pretty much see through.  When they did the standard one-loop bustle, all I saw was a giant wrinkle underneath the organza. Not pretty.  I'm not usually the kind to speak up about things like this-but for my wedding gown i did.  My mom quickly noticed what I saw too, and tried to explain to them for roughly 15-20 minutes why we didn't like it.  Finally, they redo it where it will have 3 loops....and it looks gorgeous.

Anyway, at my first fitting I had realized that my shoes were a tiny bit too tall. i looked like I was floating-not in a good way. So they found some shoes that I liked that went with my dress.  Very helpful, or so I thought.

 At my second fitting, which was a full month after the first fitting, we get to the store to find out that they have gotten none of the alterations on my dress done, or even started.  Apparently the bustle they said they would do was not possible without the loops being visible.  Great.  They put me back in my dress, pins still intact from the first fitting. The seamstress eventually comes up with a great idea of making loops out of organza to use instead of the plastic loops  so that it isn't so noticeable. Irritated, but satisfied, we left, scheduled to come back a week later.

Final fitting.  We get to the store and the bustle is all wrong.  It looks nothing like how they did it with the pins in the second fitting. Once again, all I can see is a giant, ugly wrinkle underneath the organza.  OMG. When my mom (thank God she was there to speak on my behalf, as they whole time I was so furious that I was speechless) told them it didn't look the same, they have the nerve to tell us that they couldn't do it they way they had said (AGAIN) and had to do it differently.  My mom once again messed with until it looked almost acceptable.  I had pretty much given up caring at this point, these people just didn't listen or care.  How they had taken in the sides to make it more fitted-wasn't fitted enough. I can grab almost an inch on either side right at the hip.  After the bustle issue, that wasn't so bad.  They had my shoes ready, which I had to ask about-they didn't even remember (or have it written down) I had ordered shoes. They looked great and matched perfectly.  I had these shoes on the entire time we had the bustle debate, and during this time my feet were going numb, but hey they're new-I'll just break them in later.

So tonight I decided to wear them in a bit. Just put them on and they are a size too small.  My heels hang off the back.  Did they really not make sure to get the right size?  So now, I have an effed up bustle. and two pairs of shoes that I can't wear.  

Sincerely, Bridezilla
(because that is how I feel right about now)
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Re: Davids Bridal Alterations Rant-LONG

  • Oh honey....I'm so sorry to hear about all the trouble. I've heard horror stories about the David's Bridal in my area and it seems that the trouble with them (and especially the quality of their alterations departments) is far reaching. 

    So here you are, a month out, not happy. I'm not sure what to tell you because I'm sure you've invested a lot of time and money into this whole process. I'm thinking maybe the only way to make yourself feel better is to completely wipe the slate clean and start over with a new dress. Your options at this point would be limited to something off the rack (NOT from DB obviously), and you'd have to do it quickly, but it might be the only way to wipe your hands clean of the whole DB business...

    Again, I am so sorry about what happened. I would definitely be putting in some major complaints to the management at DB and maybe even to their corporate headquarters. 
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  • Oh Shayna...not only am I heartbroken for you - my first fitting with DB is Tuesday and I am in OKC as well!! I lve that you have your Mom to stand up with and for you. I am thinking I may call mine now! My sister only needs her dress hemmed to tea length, but I will need my top brought in close to two inches. I want this to turn out for you! And then for me ... Vent away and keep us posted
    ~~Mendi~~ ...Everyone has their price; mine's chocolate Photobucket
  • Wait...isn't their bifg sling point that they are guaranteed? Hold them to it!
    ~~Mendi~~ ...Everyone has their price; mine's chocolate Photobucket
  • shayna25shayna25 member
    100 Comments
    edited August 2012
    I'll have to check on that guarantee!  We have spent way too much on this dress to be treated this way and for me to feel like I do.  

    mmmendi:  hopefully you have a better experience with them than I did!  I'm actually in Tulsa, so maybe the store in OKC is better and more helpful!  I guess the organza is a more challenging material to work with since it's so sheer, so a lot of the frustration could be because of the dress itself.  

    I REALLY wish I could justify buying a different dress.  I'm just not happy with it, and I seriously feel awful even thinking that-considering a lot of girls don't get a real wedding gown or real wedding. most people i have known have just gone to the courthouse.  Buying a different dress would just cost too much and we would have to dip into our savings.  

    I'm determined to love my dress on the big day, no matter how my bustle looks and whatnot.  Chances are, no one will know the difference.

    UPDATE:  could not find any type of guarantee....BUT I did find a link to email the company.  I sincerely hope they respond, I'd love to hear what they say about the experience I endured.  
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_davids-bridal-alterations-rant?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:15Discussion:32131992-b688-466a-8aba-f3d0b1d24af4Post:c75feefd-97f2-4e97-95a5-98533fb65f65">Re:Davids Bridal Alterations RantLONG</a>:
    [QUOTE]So you bought a dress you didn't love, had them alter its basic design and are now pissed that they can't magically make the fabric do things it wasn't meant to do? I'm sorry, but it sounds to me like you're asking a LOT out of these seamstresses and they are trying very hard to make you happy. My guess is they've probably never done this type of work on this material so they honestly don't know an idea won't work until they start trying to do it. I'm very sorry that you are unhappy with your dress. I know that sucks. But I think you're blaming the staff unnecessarily. Most seamstresses I know wouldn't even attempt the stuff you are describing for fear of the same reaction.
    Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>
    </div><div>When I bought the dress, I was in love with it.  I<strong> am most irritated that after they said they could do the specific bustle, they went and did a different one without even letting me know.  </strong>I understand that the problems started simply because of the material, but agreeing on one thing then doing something completely different without even contacting me is just bad.  Yes, the fact that they didn't take it in enough at the sides is not ideal-but that I can deal with and move on.   <strong>The bustle is why I am unhappy with the dress.   </strong></div><div>
    </div><div>It's obvious that my dress was difficult for them to work with.  However, when we asked about taking it in and making it more fitted-they said it was nothing and they do it all the time.</div><div>
    </div><div>I just feel that they were very unprofessional.  After having my dress for a full month, I came in for my second fitting to find that they had not even started the alterations.  They obviously knew I was coming in that day.  I do not feel as though they were concerned with making me happy.  If they had been, wouldn't they have consulted me before doing a bustle I didn't agree on?  

    </div>
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_davids-bridal-alterations-rant?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:15Discussion:32131992-b688-466a-8aba-f3d0b1d24af4Post:cf7c751f-aa80-4f62-9873-5b36af193d7c">Re:Davids Bridal Alterations RantLONG</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re:Davids Bridal Alterations RantLONG : When I bought the dress, I was in love with it.  I am most irritated that after they said they could do the specific bustle, they went and did a different one without even letting me know.   I understand that the problems started simply because of the material, but agreeing on one thing then doing something completely different without even contacting me is just bad.  Yes, the fact that they didn't take it in enough at the sides is not ideal-but that I can deal with and move on.   The bustle is why I am unhappy with the dress.    It's obvious that my dress was difficult for them to work with.  However, when we asked about taking it in and making it more fitted-they said it was nothing and they do it all the time. I just feel that they were very unprofessional.  After having my dress for a full month, I came in for my second fitting to find that they had not even started the alterations.  They obviously knew I was coming in that day.  I do not feel as though they were concerned with making me happy.  If they had been, wouldn't they have consulted me before doing a bustle I didn't agree on?  
    Posted by shayna25[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>I hear you girl loud and clear.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that this was indeed poor service.  They said they could do something that they clearly could not execute properly.  If ANY bride was in this situation a month before her wedding you would be freaking out.  I think 99% of people on this website would agree with you.  

    </div>
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  • I guess I wasn't very clear in my original post and so I have tried to clarify. 

    the "so i thought" was referring to the fact that after I got my shoes, they didn't even fit. It was very helpful of her to find me shoes that matched my dress.  She had put them on me herself while the I was in the dress and the seamstress was working on the bustle, so I could not see that they were too small for me.  When I put them on, my heels hang off the back.  I do believe this little part was an honest mistake, but it makes the situation no less frustrating.  I'm just not keen on paying for a pair of shoes that I can't wear.

    The reason I say that they did not care about me as a client: we agreed on a royal bustle.  Instead of doing what was agreed upon (and paid for) they did a completely different bustle without even consulting me.  I realize that the way it looks with pins will be slightly different from how it looks with the loops, and if this difference was all it was, I would have been fine with it.  But when we told them that the bustle didn't look the same as what we had agreed on, they admitted that they had to do a different bustle.  I could have understood and been fine with this IF they had gotten my permission.  Obviously my opinion on this was not at all important to them.

    I hope this clarifies enough.
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  • Thank you for all this info re DB alterations department. Iif we find a dress there, you've taught me to just buy it and take it and have it altered elsewhere.
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